The Definition of a Mercenary
by WeakAnthropicPrinciple
Summary: The War is over. Fox McCloud just wants to forget about it and move on with his life, but old memories keep coming back to haunt him. Thankfully, his team - his family - is always around to help him out. But appearances are deceiving. Team "Star Fox" is larger than General Pepper thought, and they certainly aren't the nice guys. Warning: Copious amount of swearing.
1. The Fox and the Alternate Reality

Nothing made sense. Endless tunnels, leading nowhere. Left, right. Endless. How long had it been since he flew into the black hole? Seconds, minutes, days, bled together, dripped into eternity. And it was cold. Colder than the deepest night on Fichina, cold that pierced the skin and bit into the bones. A cold that numbed the mind. Endless tunnels, left, right.

And then Andross was there. Andross was there and he loomed impossibly large in front of Fox. His laughter shook the arwing and boomed down the endless tunnels that weaved into eternity. Everything was Andross. Fox realized that he was screaming. The joints in his fingers ached from gripping the throttle so tightly. He haphazardly fired a few laser blasts directly into Andross' eyes.

Andross exploded, oh god, but he didn't die. His face was gone but his eyes were still watching; it looked like they were getting closer, closer, dear god. He was trapped with Andross in a little room the size of the night sky. Fox could hear the thoughts running through Andross' brain. Agony. Hatred. Despair. Recognition. Pleading. He was trapped with the thing that used to be Andross. Fox pressed his hands desperately against his ears to try and keep the thoughts out, but they trickled through his fingers and threatened to burst out of his skull.

Fox couldn't take anymore. He slammed his fist onto the bomb panel, aiming straight for the gigantic brain. The thoughts stopped. Fox was suddenly alone, floating in an ocean of nauseous greens and yellows and reds. His anger disappeared with Andross, leaving him feeling empty. He realized that he was stuck down here, up here, wherever here was, forever; there was no way to get out.

" I'm stuck in here forever. I'm stuck in here forever. I'm stuck in here forever. I'm stuck in here forever."

Fox repeated the words to himself like a mantra. He tried to remember why he had flown into the black hole in the first place. What was he doing here?

* * *

"Holy shit, he's alive."

"WHAT!? FALCO, WHERE ARE YOU?! DO YOU SEE HIM?!"

"Relax, Peppy. He just kinda…popped out of the black hole. I'm following the old river bed, about 20 miles south of where we split up. I circled back a bit."

"Oh my god." Peppy's voice was shaking. "Oh my god. Does he look okay? I'm on my way right now. Why isn't he talking? Does he look okay? I'm more than 50 miles outside of the temple ruins, but I'm on my way right now. Get him away from the black hole."

"Peppy. The black hole is gone. It collapsed." Falco squinted just to make sure. "Definitely gone."

"WHAT!?"

Fox ignored the chatter coming through his commlink. He let his arwing drift, looking blankly up into the stars.

"Hey. Fox. Fox buddy. You alright over there? What're you looking at? Can you hear me? Fox, it's me, Falco. Can you hear me?"

"Yeah." Fox was still looking beyond the night sky. "I'm fine. I think."

"Can you make it to the Great Fox? Do you need help? I can be there in about fifteen minutes." Peppy still sounded frantic.

"No. I think I can do it. Give me a second." It took Fox a bit of effort to steady his arwing, but he made the journey to the docking bay of the Great Fox, which was orbiting Venom, without saying anything else. Other than the occasional "oh my god" murmured by Peppy, silence cracked through the commlinks. When he landed, he slowly pulled himself out of the cockpit, thudding onto the metallic floor only to be quickly embraced by Slippy.

"Fox! I'm so glad you're alive! I would have been out there looking for you too, you know, but Pigma shot my arwing up pretty bad and I had to pull it up for repairs. Geez, you're freezing! I _was_ looking for you though, from the Great Fox. See, I can look at the black hole you disappeared into from here. Did you know there are more than ten known black hole warps on Venom? Peppy and Falco went flying out to some of those other ones to maybe try and find you. What one did you come out of? It wasn't the one I was watching. Are they all connected? You're so cold! Here, let's go to the kitchen."

Fox let Slippy talk and pull him towards the kitchen, which was little more than a tiny room with a table tucked beneath a view-window. From here, Venom looked like a marble of rotten, raw meat floating in space. Slippy guided Fox gently onto a chair and started fumbling through the metallic storage containers built into the walls. Slippy didn't seem to notice that Fox hadn't said a word since boarding the ship.

"-and _that's_ why the warp zones aren't stable. Hmmm…. we ran out of tea two weeks ago, back during that covert supply mission on Titania, I think. No coffee since way back when. Where does all of the coffee go? You'd think that with the four of us we could at least- "

"What in the actual flying FUCK were you thinking?!" Falco's voice burst into the kitchen before he did. Fox flinched and looked at his boots but didn't reply.

"I mean, seriously? Are you fucking serious? Jesus! Peppy nearly had an aneurysm when you disappeared! He's been hyperventilating for the last three hours! I thought he was gonna die, have a heart attack or a stroke or somethin'!"

"Three hours?" Fox asked in disbelief. It had felt like days in the black hole.

"Yes, three hours! Three goddam hours! We've been flying all over Venom looking for you! Fuck! Even Star Wolf was stunned when you flew in there, and they are _all about_ doing stupid fucking shit! Christ, even _they_ know not to touch a black hole! You're lucky to be alive, you-"

"Where is Star Wolf?"

"They said they had somethin' to do. Some business shit or somethin'. I wasn't really listening because MY BEST FRIEND HAD JUST FLOWN INTO A BLACK HOLE." Falco crossed his arms and glared at Fox.

Fox started to say something, but his voice cracked. He cleared his throat and tried again. "I'm sorry Falco. I'm sorry. You don't have to forgive me."

Falco crossed the kitchen in two strides and sat down across from Fox. "Look at me. Fox, look at me. Of course I forgive you, you little fuck. You're such a dick, but I forgive you."

The room fell uncomfortably silent. Falco sniffed a little too loudly and tried to play it off as a cough. Slippy tugged nervously at his jacket, and when a loud beep broke the silence he nearly threw himself at the microwave door and pulled out a steaming cup.

He put it down in front of Fox. "Here, It's just water, but…"

"Thanks, Slip." Fox wrapped both hands gratefully around the cup and took a drink.

"What, are you cold or somethin'?" Falco asked. "Don't we have any coffee left? Hey. Hey wait a minute. Fox."

Fox was letting the steam from the water warm up his face. "Yeah?"

"The black holes collapsed, so you did kill Andross, yeah? How much money do you think Pepper will give us for that? We didn't just _bomb_ most of the army, we actually eliminated Andross. How much money will he pay for that?"

Fox thought for a moment. "It had better be a shit-ton of money."

Falco laughed and slapped Fox's shoulder. "Damn right it had better be. Man, we could charge…anything! Add it on top of what we were _gonna_ charge already – we could _afford_ anything! We could get some badass new outfits, we could take a permanent vacation, we could buy enough coffee to last the rest of our lives!"

"Yes!" Slippy shouted excitedly, which made Fox grin.

And then Peppy walked in.

Falco and Slippy shared a look and immediately left the kitchen, leaving Peppy and Fox alone.

* * *

"Peppy…" Fox moved as if to get up from his chair.

Peppy held up a hand and shook his head. "Not right now, Fox. Here." He wrapped a thick blanket around Fox's shoulders, fussing with it until it was perfect. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"I'm sorry Peppy." Fox's voice was strained. "I don't know what I was thinking, I just, one minute I was on Venom, the next I was in _there_ , I don't even really remember flying into it and I don't know what I was thinking because it was horrible and-"

Peppy cut Fox off with a tight hug. He pulled Fox close to his chest for several moments before letting go. He was trying not to cry.

"It's okay. I'm just glad you're okay. I would never have forgiven myself if…if…if I never saw you again. I was reliving that horrible day all over again. I can't lose you too. I couldn't leave you in there like I had to leave him. Couldn't." Peppy sat down and wiped his nose on his sleeve. "Fox, I have to ask you one question. Did you…did you see anybody while you were…in there?"

Fox didn't look Peppy in the eye. "Just Andross."

Peppy stared intently at Fox and nodded slowly. A moment passed. And then another. Finally, he sighed and pushed himself back up.

"Alright. We'll talk more about it tomorrow. I'm tired. Get some sleep. We're headed towards Corneria, should take us about a week to get there if we fly nonstop." At the doorway, Peppy stopped and looked over his shoulder. "I love you, Fox. Goodnight."

"I love you too, Peppy."

Fox didn't move. He watched the desolate planet Venom get smaller and smaller in the view-window. The cup of water went cold. Still, he watched. He watched as it disappeared among the vast canopy of stars.


	2. Warp Zones and War Ceremonies

Fox, Slippy, and Peppy were eating breakfast in the lounge because the "kitchen" was too small for the three of them. Falco was still asleep. It was early afternoon Cornerian time. Peppy messaged General Pepper a few hours earlier, and a commscreen meeting with the whole team was scheduled for after the lunch hour.

Fox, who was sore from falling asleep at the kitchen table the night before, was quietly eating a packet of stale oatmeal. Peppy looked absolutely exhausted, and he hadn't said a word since "good morning" twenty minutes ago. Slippy was humming to himself, although he wasn't chattering like he normally would, and the cereal in front of him was untouched. Minutes passed. Slippy's humming became more frantic. He abruptly put his spoon down.

"What was it like?" He asked, unable to contain himself any longer.

Fox took another bite of his breakfast, and before he could answer, Slippy plowed on.

"I mean, well, I just kinda am curious what it was like in there, 'cause you know I studied alternate realities at the Academy and black holes -warp zones- are linked to that. And it would be interesting to know what it was like 'cause it isn't very well documented 'cause it's impossible to study – well, not _impossible_ but really hard, you know, since most people who go into a warp zone don't come out and…"

Slippy's voice withered when he noticed Peppy glaring at him. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean it like – well, uhm, ah-"

Fox started laughing so hard that he choked on his oatmeal. After coughing to dislodge the food from his throat, he glanced back up at Slippy, who looked back with a bewildered expression on his face. This made Fox laugh even harder.

"Slippy, is there any –haha! - god, is there ANY subject –ha! - that you didn't study back at the Academy?!"

Slippy gave Fox a confused smile, still unsure about what was so funny. Fox took a few deep breathes to compose himself.

"Whooo, sorry. Heh. Okay, okay. Look, Slippy, you can talk about what happened, okay? I'd love to talk to you guys about it. Make it feel a little less…" Fox struggled to find a word. "Serious, I guess. I mean, it was serious, but still. Ask as many questions as you want. Go ahead, I know you've been dying over there. Ask away."

Slippy starting speaking so fast that his sentences were rear-ending each other. "What was it like, physically? What did it look like? Was there even anything to look at or was it so abstract that you couldn't perceive it with your eyes? Did you gain other senses? Can you even remember?"

"Whoa, whoa. Slow down a little. It's a little hard to explain but…well, it was really cold. Mmmm, uh, it felt like I was in there for days, but Falco said it was only about three hours. It felt like days in a few seconds though, if that makes sense."

"Oh, that would fit the time jump theory that got published in the Premier Lylat Scientific Journal a few years ago! The writer hypothesized that time doesn't work the same way in a warp zone…it's struggling to stay in in a straight line but it keeps being bent and pulled and stretched and it doesn't stay consistently in the present. It keeps jumping forwards and backwards. That's what they hypothesized, anyway."

"It wasn't pleasant, whatever was happening. And it was just…dark, endless tunnels. They looked red, maybe yellow, I dunno. It was hard to tell." Fox noticed that Peppy was frowning. "It wasn't pleasant."

"And where was Andross? What was he doing?" Slippy leaned forward.

"He was…" Fox hesitated slightly, "just there. Suddenly just there. I shot at him, and he died."

"Are you really sure you killed him?"

"Yes." Fox replied with such force that the word ricocheted off of the walls and landed with a thud on the table. "Yes, absolutely sure," he added somewhat softer.

"And how did you escape." Peppy said softly, still frowning.

"What?" Fox turned to Peppy.

Peppy stared Fox dead in the eye. "How did you escape."

"I don't remember." Fox replied with no hesitation, his eyes blank.

"Hey, shitheads." Falco sauntered over to the group and sat down. His head feathers were standing up in all directions. "What boring shit are you three talking about?"

"Warp zones!" Slippy cried cheerfully.

"Oh god. You mean black holes?"

"People _call_ them that, but a lot of scientists think that they are really warp zones to alternate realities. The ones on Venom are a result of the war. Evidently they're connected, which is kinda sorta amazing. A real black hole would've eaten everything up by now."

"Wow. Amazing." Falco slathered jam onto a cracker. "Hey, Peppy, did you talk with the General?"

"Yes. We're scheduled to meet with him in an hour, so I suggest you clean yourself up." Peppy was still frowning.

* * *

"Is it true? Is he really dead? We heard rumors that the black holes had collapsed, but we weren't able to confirm them." General Pepper was standing rigidly on the commscreen. A large group of soldiers stood at attention in the background, although a few of them were leaning forward to try and get a better look.

"Andross is dead, sir. I killed him." Fox replied with his arms crossed. It was the first thing he said to General Pepper during the brief meeting. Peppy, as usual, did most of the talking. Falco (who still looked rumpled) and Slippy hovered nearby.

An uproarious cheer broke out from the soldiers behind the General when Fox confirmed the news, and they completely abandoned their formation to toss around hugs and high fives. General Pepper didn't bother reprimanding them; he was smiling broadly, which deepened the wrinkles lining his face.

"Well done, team Star Fox! Well done! This is good news – wonderful news! We must celebrate. We will hold a ceremony in your honor as soon as you arrive. Of course, we will also discuss your payment. I also expect to receive a full report detailing exactly what happened. Peppy, have that sent to me as soon as possible. Well done - wonderful news!" With that, the General disconnected his commscreen, a smile still plastered on his face while his soldiers continued to cheer.

Falco tossed his hands up and groaned. "A fucking ceremony? We kill the epitome of evil and he's gonna make us sit through a _ceremony_?! Just give us our money, you old bag! Call it good! We ain't your buddies, getting all chummy with the Cornerian army, UGH!"

"Stop that." Peppy snapped. "If the General wants to honor us with a ceremony, let him. It's a kind gesture."

"You know what woulda been a kinder gesture? If he had sent troops to help us out on Venom!"

"You know full well that what we did was top secret. An army would have drawn unnecessary attention to our actions."

"Please. He just didn't want to risk the lives of any Cornerians. Mercenaries, though? Eh, they're expendable!"

"Pepper has lost countless good people to this war!" Peppy snarled. "He's been fighting against Andross much longer than _you_ , and it is thanks to him that the Lylat system hasn't fallen to ruin!"

"Ruin. Pfeh. You tellin' me Titania hasn't been ruined? What about Zoness? And it's kinda thanks to _us_ now that –"

"Enough! Guys, c'mon! Stop that." Fox stepped between Falco and Peppy. "Stop fighting. Falco, you know that the General has done his best to keep peace in the galaxy. And Peppy, you know that Cornerian war ceremonies are probably the most boring thing ever."

Falco looked hopeful. "Oh good, so that means we aren't goin'?"

"We're going, Falco." Fox said firmly. He was intercepting for Peppy's sake. Peppy was fond of the General and actually enjoyed the stiff decorum of Cornerian ceremonial tradition. Fox hated attending ceremonies as much as Falco and would normally do everything in his power to avoid going, but he still felt guilty about causing Peppy so much stress.

"Last time I went to a war ceremony – my cousin joined the army a few years ago – I thought that I had died and gone to hell. The speeches were so…they were endless." Slippy winced at the memory.

"Even Slippy hates the damned things, Fox." Falco pleaded.

"I don't like them much either. But we're going. Besides, how bad can it be? He's probably just organizing a small celebratory party."

* * *

The ceremony and celebrations lasted four hours, all told. The team was greeted by a cheering crowd of thousands when they stepped off the Great Fox, and General Pepper himself escorted them to a giant, outdoor pavilion constructed for the occasion. Fox was horrified. It didn't look like it was going to be a simple event.

The crowd swarmed the pavilion, still cheering. Fox didn't know where to look, so he grinned nervously and stared at a point above Slippy's shoulder. Slippy was staring in wide eyed wonder, his mouth hanging open. Falco clenched his fists. Peppy didn't seem fazed at all, and he smiled and waved with genuine sincerity at the crowd.

They were seated behind a massive table at the head of the pavilion, right next to General Pepper and a few other high ranking officials that Fox had never bothered to learn the names of. The crowd spilled out onto the streets. Then, the speeches began.

Slippy was right. They were endless. Fox struggled to pay attention to all of the speeches, especially since most of the speakers were praising his team profusely, but his mind kept wandering. At one point, he caught himself counting the wrinkles on General Pepper's face.

Eventually, General Pepper stood and added a few of his own praises. Much to Fox's embarrassment, he was invited to speak for a moment. Fox stumbled over some motivational words about teammates and bravery. General Pepper pinned a war medal onto him and each of his team mates. The band started playing triumphant music. Fox prayed that it was over. It wasn't.

They were ushered into General Pepper's private office. The important officials that Fox still couldn't name crowded into the room as well, standing a respectful distance away from the new war heroes. The General was still talking. Falco caught Fox's eye and shot him a seething glare. There was a long table off to the side of the room that was heaped with fresh, steaming food. The last time the team had the luxury of fresh food was at least four months ago, and the sight of it, just out of reach, was absolutely tortuous.

"Now, about your payment."

* * *

"I'm gonna cry. I'm literally gonna cry."

Falco leaned back dramatically on the lounge sofa. The whole team sat listlessly here and there, each lost in their own thoughts.

"One million credits. One million fucking credits. After all we did."

" I'll admit that I was expected something more than that, but we have to remember that Corneria has poured a lot of money into this war already. That is most likely the absolute highest amount that Pepper could afford." Peppy remarked.

"We got 300,000 for that whole damn fiasco in Sector Y alone. Just for the Sector Y job."

"That was four months ago. Before Corneria was raided for the second time."

"Didn't we already have this conversation yesterday, guys." Slippy asked in an uncharacteristic monotone.

"Yes." Peppy and Falco replied in unison.

When General Pepper announced their payment for the Venom job, team Star Fox kept an admirably straight face. It was only after they hurried back to the Great Fox with as much fresh food as they could hold that they voiced their disappointment. A day passed, but the team was still moping.

"We put so much time into it, is what kills me. We've been on the move, doing the dirty work, for basically four months straight. We worked our asses off. We put all of our energy into these few jobs." Fox swiped an electronic screen lethargically.

"This is the first bread I've had in four months. Four months. Is one million even enough to repair all of the damages to the Great Fox? And there had better be enough to-"

A robotic voice interrupted Slippy. "NOW APPROACHING DESTINATION. ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: 10 MINUTES."

"Finally." Fox stood up to look out of the view-window. "Thanks, R.O.B. I guess that means we better get ready, guys."

The rest of the team moved to prepare for landing. They were still traveling through the asteroid belt.

"Thank god we're home." Fox turned to help his team. Their destination was now visible from the view-window: Sargasso.


	3. The Sargasso Space Station

The Lylat System was home to several dozen mercenary hideouts.

The Sargasso Space Zone was the largest (and only) mercenary hideout in the Meteo Asteroid Belt. Most of the other known hideouts were established at a much greater distance from Corneria, and a few weren't even _technically_ in the Lylat System. Either the Cornerian army was ignoring Sargasso's existence, or they genuinely didn't know about it, due to the space station's well-hidden position within the belt.

Sargasso, like all other mercenary space stations, had belonged to one family for generations. Long before the War, and long before Corneria began regulating all of the planets in the Lylat System, the notorious Hare family built the massive space station to establish a home base for space pirates and criminals. Peppy was the last living descendant.

In the past, Sargasso was constantly teeming with activity, often housing more than fifty individuals at once, but as time passed and the Cornerian force became stronger, mercenary activity in the Lylat System dwindled. By the time Peppy inherited the station it was somewhat run-down. He was fiercely proud of it. He was even more proud of the small crew that he had gathered to help him run it.

Peppy owned Sargasso and acted as its manager, but he had appointed two leaders to manage two separate teams: Star Wolf and Star Fox. Even though the teams worked from the same base, Peppy encouraged the widespread opinion that Star Fox and Star Wolf were rivals because it made it easier to swindle clients. Keeping a giant space station and several specialty spacecraft functional was not cheap, and if money was running low, Peppy would have Star Wolf create a "problem" that Star Fox would have to "fix". For a price, of course.

Team Star Fox mainly dealt with Cornerian clients as a gun-for-hire, although it wasn't unusual for the team to pick up odd jobs all over the Lylat System. Fox was the leader of the team due to his exceptional piloting abilities, and his disarming demeanor made it easy for him to charm clients. Slippy looked harmless, which comforted twitchy government officials. Peppy was an old friend of General Pepper, from the days when Fox's father James had been the leader of Star Fox. Falco had just shown up one day and situated himself on the team.

The Star Wolf team hardly ever set foot anywhere near Corneria. Their business was openly and whole heartedly seedy, which took them everywhere from Sector Y to Venom. Wolf, who was as talented a pilot as Fox, was the leader. He dealt fairly with other space criminals and was well respected by all who did business with him. Leon was brought onto the team by Wolf, who insisted that he would be an asset (something Leon proved over and over again.) Andrew thought fast and talked faster, often getting the team out of sticky political confrontations.

The War limped along for decades, but the Venomian army had recently kicked their efforts into high gear. General Pepper, desperate for discreet help, contacted the only mercenary team he fully trusted, with the promise of large payment. Team Star Fox accepted.

The plan, simply, had been this: make as much money off of both sides as possible. Star Fox took the side of Corneria while Star Wolf offered their professional services to Venom. They carefully planned each confrontation over a private commlink connection. When Star Fox was assigned to bomb a Venomian supply base on Titania, and Star Wolf was stationed to protect that supply base, Star Wolf pretended that they had been bested. When Star Wolf shot down a Cornerian ship carrying a battalion of soldiers, Star Fox was conveniently occupied elsewhere. The plan **_hadn't_ ** been to let the whole thing drag on for several months. The teams were getting too involved, entangled in the politics.

Venom was supposed to be the end of it. Up to that point, Star Fox had kept its distance from Andross' planet. General Pepper had asked them to do another bombing run, this time on Venom. Star Fox contacted Star Wolf. The final agreement was that Star Fox would complete the bombings (which they did), have a small confrontation with Star Wolf, and leave. After collecting payment for the mission, they would remove all contact with General Pepper, keeping a low profile. Star Wolf would remain on Venom for a short period of time before disappearing quietly.

Needless to say, it hadn't gone according to plan.

* * *

"Holy shit, you really _are_ alive!" Andrew exclaimed.

The Star Fox team had just walked into the spacious lounge of the Sargasso Space Station. Team Star Wolf was waiting for them.

"Of course I am, dumbass." Fox stood in the center of the room with a stony countenance, the rest of his team behind him. Andrew walked up and puffed out his chest.

"What did you call me?"

"Dumb. Ass."

They stood facing each other. Andrew's eye twitched. Fox remained impassive. Andrew crinkled his nose. Fox didn't budge. Finally, Andrew couldn't take anymore. He started laughing, pulled Fox into a quick, fond embrace, and held him at arm's length to inspect him thoroughly.

"God, you are so much better at keeping a straight face than I am."

Fox was grinning now, too. "I dunno, that was some great acting back there on Venom. We were almost convinced that you were really fighting for Andross."

"You liked it, huh? It was all Andrew." Wolf was lying back on one of the sofas with his feet propped up on the armrest. His eye was closed, the other covered with the eyepatch he used when not piloting. "He scripted the whole thing."

"Fuckin' amazing." Falco muttered appreciably. "Absolutely beautiful."

Andrew chuckled. "'Bow before the great Andross!' Psshh. The sad thing is, the Venomian troops legitimately talk like that."

After Andrew gave everyone a hug, Wolf and Leon (who had been sitting quietly) stood to greet the crewmates they had hardly seen for four months. Wolf shook everybody's hand. Leon nodded politely.

Peppy seemed a little on edge. "Really, though. We did think you might seriously be working for Andross. You stopped returning our messages shortly before we arrived on Venom– "

"Erm, yeah, you wouldn't BELIEVE how closely the Venomian officials monitor their troops. We were pretty good about evading their efforts, but we were sure they bugged our devices shortly after that whole thing you – we - did to the satellite. They were getting pretty suspicious of us, so we thought it would be safer if we didn't contact you for a while. We acknowledged the message you sent after Venom, didn't we? We all survived, didn't we? No harm done." Andrew explained.

"Are you still bugged? Did you lead them here?" Peppy asked with concern.

"Leon wiped all of our equipment. He would have done so earlier, but we didn't know just how closely we were being monitored." Wolf replied calmly.

Slippy stepped out from behind Fox, his usual spot. "Did you save any of the gadgets they gave you? It would be interesting to inspect –"

"No. We disposed of everything they gave us." Wolf cut Slippy short.

"Hold on. Why did you vanish when Fox…when Fox confronted Andross? Why didn't you stay to help us look for him? And why," Peppy's eyes narrowed "was Pigma Dengar flying with you on Venom?"

"Ah. Pigma was not our decision. He was thrust upon us unexpectedly." Wolf said.

"And I didn't script his lines." Andrew snorted derisively. "He really talks like that."

"Really?" Falco held back a guffaw.

Wolf ignored the two of them. "As for why we disappeared, well. You didn't really stick with the original plan, now did you?" He was addressing Fox directly. "We figured you were dead. Nobody on Venom dares go near those black holes. We 'vanished' so as to eliminate Pigma as soon as possible. Didn't want him reporting back to the officials."

"Did you kill him?" Fox asked.

Andrew jumped in. "Hooohh, yes we did. You should have seen it. Leon tinkered with the self-eject in Pigma's Wolfen while he wasn't looking, AND he disabled the commlink, so even though Pigma _thought_ he was sending messages, he wasn't doing jack shit. We convinced him that we needed to report back to headquarters personally, flew him out over some rocky terrain, and then _Leon_ " Andrew patted Leon's back. " _Leon_ here just – poof! – remotely ejected him. Without a parachute. Was beautiful. Lost a good Wolfen though."

"Oh." Was Fox's nonplussed reply. Peppy also seemed a little deflated.

After briefly weighing the situation, Wolf gestured for Fox to follow him.

* * *

The Sargasso storage hangar was truly massive; five wolfen, six arwings, the unimaginatively named Great Fox, and the Zephyrus (Star Wolf's mother ship) were all housed comfortably within it, with room to spare.

Wolf was crouched on top of one of the wolfens, fiddling around with some minor exterior repair work.

"How much did your team make? Peppy's message was brief. He just mentioned that you survived and that you would be making a quick stop on Corneria." He asked.

"Total?" Fox sat on the wing of the wolfen. "Adding up all of General Pepper's payments, plus the few extra side jobs, we made about five million. Total."

Wolf winced. "Shit. Even after you got rid of Andross? We were hoping they would be more generous."

"So were we."

"When those black holes collapsed – congratulations, by the way, nobody was expecting that – we had to get out fast. We were on our way back to headquarters and the troops went ballistic. They worship Andross…we were lucky to escape with our lives. Didn't get paid for repelling you off of Venom, obviously. You screwed that part of the plan over."

"I'm sorry. I didn't expect it either, really."

"S'alright. Hell, we needed to get out of there soon, anyways." Wolf's laugh was low and gritty. "Honestly, the whole thing was shot to shit back when we helped you take down the Bolse satellite. When they bugged us. Our fault - got careless. They were starting to catch on, I think."

"How much did your team make?"

"Nowhere near as much. Three million, maybe, and building a new wolfen will cost at least a third of that." Wolf paused. "About Pigma…" Wolf, and the rest of the crew, knew exactly what role Pigma had played in the death of Fox's father. "I'm sorry that we killed him. It was…necessary. If _any_ of us were going to get off of Venom alive."

Fox shivered, pulled his piloting scarf up, huddled into his jacket.

Wolf glanced at Fox. "Are you cold?"

"No." Fox shivered again.

Wolf put his tools down and sat with a huff. He noticed that the Great Fox was also in need of repair, which wouldn't be cheap.

"This wasn't a good plan." He stated matter-of-factly.

"Nope."

"We're kind of fucked."

"Yep."


	4. Screwed Either Way

Only one thought got Slippy out of bed in the morning: coffee. Last night – his first night back on the base since what seemed like forever – he went to bed early. He slept in a little, too. He felt like he had earned it.

He yawned as he shuffled out of his sleeping quarters. The rest of the corridor was silent. Either his crewmates were still asleep, or they were already busy about the base.

The kitchen, spacious and invitingly warm, had lighting designed to emulate a natural day/night cycle. Currently, cheerful sunlight poured in from the fake view-screens.

There it was.

The metal cabinet.

The metal cabinet where the coffee was stored.

Slippy's mouth watered. Oh, he had dreamed about this moment, waited so long for this, craved the beautiful aroma, the delicious nectar of the gods, the –

The cabinet was empty. So was the look in Slippy's eyes.

"I felt the same way."

Slippy spun around to see Leon hovering in the doorway.

"We really should have picked up more on our way back," Leon continued awkwardly, "but we didn't."

"Oh." Slippy rummaged through the fridge. "That's okay. I'll just have some…uh. Man, we _really_ should have stocked up while we were on Corneria."

"Why didn't you?"

"We sorta panicked, I guess."

"Oh."

Slippy figured that Leon was probably done talking (Leon seldom said more than ten words at a time), so he smiled and turned to go.

"Wait."

"What?" Slippy asked, mildly amused.

"Yesterday, you asked Wolf about the Venomian equipment. We did dispose of all of it, one way or another, but I took notes. If you would like to look over them, I would appreciate the help." Leon looked down. "And the company."

"Oh my goodness, yes! That would be extremely awesome! The tech coming off of Venom recently is SO different that the old Andross era stuff, which I know you already know and all, but it is SO cool!"

"I gathered information on the scattergun."

Slippy nearly choked. "You're kidding me. Oh. My. Goodness. No way. Holy moly. Please don't say you're kidding me."

"I'm not."

* * *

"I want bodyguards."

The corpulent dog on the viewscreen was a smuggler from Sector Y, a neutral nebula that had been the location of several recent battles. While it was usually a safe haven for illegal trade, the War had ravaged the area, leaving behind only the most stubborn of criminals.

"How many, Agrius?" Peppy asked.

Agrius smiled. "Three, maybe four. Just for a few hours. I'm doing business with some new clients. Better safe than sorry, as they say."

"What happened to that old bull working for you?"

"He's gone. Look, I'll pay fairly. Generously."

Peppy sent a quick message to his crew. "I'll see if my team is up to it."

"Actually, I would prefer if you didn't send any furless freaks."

Peppy frowned. "Fox and Falco would be happy to take the job. Without Slippy."

"Well yes, but…" Agrius paused. "I want Wolf, too. And Andrew."

"What?" Peppy asked calmly, unwilling to let Agrius see that he was shocked.

"Don't play stupid with me. Either you send them, or I tell everybody I do business with that you have been scamming them."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Take the job or leave it. Let me know in an hour."

* * *

"Racist fuck. I don't have fur either. Idiot. Asshole. I won't do it. _Especially_ if he won't let the rest of our crew in on the job." Falco spat.

"Slippy and Leon wouldn't go anyway." Fox reasoned. "They're busy in the workshop."

"Still?! It's been three days!"

Fox smiled. "Does that surprise you, Andrew? You know how they are when they get their hands on new technology."

"It doesn't matter," said Peppy. "We're screwed either way."

Wolf chewed his lip, thoughtful. "Would it really hurt if we took the job? Working separately hasn't exactly been panning out very well. It might be a good thing."

"Yes, except if General Pepper found out about it, he would shit a brick." Fox bit at his claw.

"I'd like to see that." Falco muttered darkly. Peppy cuffed Falco up the side of the head.

"So we create a sob story." Andrew announced dramatically. "Something about Star Wolf getting a conscience, begging for forgiveness. Star Fox gives them a second chance out of the kindness of their hearts! The two teams unite! General Pepper loves that kind of thing."

"There would be no going back, if we do this. To how things were before." Peppy said with a grave look.

Fox patted Peppy's back. "Not like we have a choice. It doesn't matter how he found out - Agrius _will_ sell what he knows. Half the system will know about us by tomorrow."

"I won't do it. I refuse to work for racists."

Peppy sighed. "The rest of you – will you do it?"

Andrew, Wolf, and Fox looked at each other.


	5. The Galaxy's Best Bodyguards

There is perfection is disorder, meaning in the random nature of things, and beauty in chaos.

The beauty of chaos was lost on Fox, Wolf, and Andrew as they focused on safely piloting their ships through the mayhem of discarded equipment and abandoned spacecraft. They were deep within the bowels of Sector Y.

"Shit, this place really took a beating, didn't it? There's nobody _left."_ Andrew said over the commlink. "Oh shit." He added again without much alarm, narrowly avoiding getting clipped by debris.

"It looks more deserted than it is. And at least there aren't any Cornerian patrol ships."

"There aren't any _**right now**_ , Wolf, but those bastards always show up at the worst possible time. I just don't feel comfortable here." Andrew shuddered. Then a thought struck him. "Hey, what are we calling ourselves, anyways? Star Wolf, featuring Fox? Star Wolx? Star Folf? The Sargasso Space Studs? The Peppy Gang?"

"Oh my god, Andrew, shut up." Fox laughed. "But good question. We'll talk about it with the rest of the crew later. For now…well, I guess Agrius technically hired Star Fox? We'll go by Star Fox."

"Okie dokie, almighty captain. Hey look, we're here! These are the coordinates."

"Here" was a dark spacecraft that, despite being able to melt into the background of junk, commanded no small degree of respect. Underneath massive discolored splotches there was evidence that it had once been a beauty, and with some heavy duty repair work, it could sell for a huge sum of money. As it was, it just crouched quietly, unnoticed, in the dirtiest segment of Sector Y.

"Agrius, this is Star Fox. We have arrived at the coordinates." Fox hailed the ship.

Agrius replied immediately. "Team Star Fox! You've finally made it! Come in, come in, I've been waiting an eternity!" The frequency cracked and sputtered before closing, and a large hatch slid open on the side of the dark ship, revealing a docking bay.

Two wolfens and an arwing entered the docking bay, which was empty, save for Agrius' personal flier.

"Whoooo, nice place. But very…empty. We must be the first ones here!" Andrew noted using the team's personal frequency.

"Of course we're the first ones here. What kind of idiot would tell his body guards to show up _after_ the shady clients are scheduled to arrive?" Wolf scoffed. "And the place isn't his. He stole it."

"How do you know?"

"Just do." Wolf disengaged his wolfen's G-Diffusers, landed, shut down the engines, opened the cockpit, and hopped out. The landing dock _was_ unusually empty, even if Agrius lived alone, which was unlikely for a ship this size. Unless his crew was purely mechanical. Wolf scratched at his piloting visor thoughtfully.

"Welcome, Star Fox!"

Agrius gripped the steel railing, leaning over from above as he shouted down. "Fox, and Wolf, and Andrew! Oh, this is wonderful. I'm so glad you made it. Welcome! Welcome! I'm afraid you've a bit of a wait until my clients arrive. Please, make yourselves at home until then. Come on up – the ladder is the quickest way. Elevator takes a goddam eternity, need to get it fixed. This way!"

* * *

They did make themselves at home. At least, as much as they could. It was hard to feel completely comfortable with the questionable stains fading on the walls and the sickly sweet odor emanating from the ventilation system. Andrew had climbed a stack of rusty boxes and was perched at the very top, relating a story to Fox and Wolf. They had simply kicked trash aside to clear a spot on the floor, not trusting their climbing abilities quite as much as Andrew did his.

"So then I said to the guy, 'No way in _hell_ am I touching that. Do you even know how gravity works?' He then looks at me, I kid you not, and he says 'Come on, it's just a little b-'"

"Star Fox! Come in here, please! The clients have arrived!" Agrius yelled from another room. He had disappeared shortly after ushering the team into what he called the "living room."

Andrew leapt down from his precarious perch. One of the boxes fell with a loud clatter that was quickly eaten and silenced by the piles of trash lining the room. "I'll have to tell you guys the rest later."

"I can't wait."

"Come on, Wolf, don't be an asshole. I know you're curious about how it ends."

Fox pushed himself off the floor and brushed the back of his pants off; he picked something sticky out of his tail and grimaced. "Let's get this over with. Tell us on the way back."

They found Agrius standing in an empty (and surprisingly clean) room. Andrew took his left, Fox and Wolf his right.

"Aren't you going to conduct your, ah, business somewhere more…comfortable?" Fox asked Agrius.

"I like to keep these kinds of things as short as possible. The more comfortable _they_ are, the longer it takes for them to leave. Now quiet, please."

"You don't want us to escort them in, then?"

"I said quiet!" Agrius snapped at Fox. "They know the way!"

Fox shrugged. "Alright."

Before long, the heavy sound of footsteps on metal was discernable, and the automatic door they stood facing stuttered a bit before sliding open to reveal the clients: a short, dappled lynx, and a spaniel with stunning white fur that looked like it took at least several hours to style every morning. These were the shady clients that Agrius was worried about.

"Fay, Miyu, what a pleasure it is to finally meet you! What a pleasure, ladies!" Agrius thrust his pudgy paw out.

The spaniel Fay stepped forward and, with a disdainful smile that displayed all of her perfectly white teeth, briefly shook his paw. "Agrius. The pleasure is mine. Ours." She gestured back at her silent companion. Miyu glowered at Agrius, but made no motion towards shaking his paw.

Agrius continued unperturbed. "Ladies, as you can see, I have what you asked for." He pulled a small box out of his musty jacket. Neither Fay nor Miyu so much as glanced at it. They were sizing up Agrius' bodyguards. Fay took the box while staring at Andrew, opened the lid, and briefly studied its contents.

"Agrius," she said, "something is missing."

"But the most _important_ part is there. So you will pay full price." Agrius shifted his weight to his other leg. "As agreed."

Fay thought for a flicker of a second. "We will pay. Not full price."

"But I got the most important part! Surely the missing part isn't so important."

"Not full price." Fay repeated.

Fox, who had been standing professionally up to that point, suddenly noticed the red ribbons tied above Fay's ears. It struck him as absurdly funny that a tough smuggler took the time to tie tiny ribbons in her hair. He snorted.

Wolf gave Fox a shove, but it was too late. Fay fixed Fox with a cold glare.

"Nice scarf, Foxy. Really ties the whole homeless look together."

"Thanks, sweetheart." Fox laughed, although he pulled subconsciously at the tattered red scarf around his neck.

Andrew pointed at Fay. "Hey, was that really necessary?"

"Was the War your Uncle started really necessary?" she retorted.

"What the fuck? Where did _**that**_ come from?! Are you fucking kidding me? My Uncle wasn't the sole reason the War started! And what does it even fucking matter, bitch?"

"Oh please, _Andrew Oikonny._ You are just as disgusting as your Uncle. In fact, your whole _family_ was a bunch of disgusting, filthy, mangy maniacs."

Andrew snarled and lunged. At that, Miyu leapt forward and had Andrew on the floor before he could reach Fay. She twisted his arm behind his back with one hand and started grinding his face into the floor with the other. Andrew screamed in rage.

 _Andross was everywhere, everywhere, nowhere but everywhere, and the horrible screams screaming it hurt his throat his ears make it stop it gets closer trapped in here forever make it –_

Fox jolted back to reality. He could still hear screaming; he realized it was his own voice. The sound died in his throat, collapsing in on itself in embarrassment. He was shaking, his blaster gripped firmly in both hands and pointed directly at Fay's head.

Everyone, including Andrew (still pinned to the floor) regarded Fox with a mix of disbelief and shock. A pin dropped in the next galaxy could have been heard in the room.

Carefully, Wolf grasped Fox's arm and pushed down until the blaster was pointed at the floor. "Woah. Woah. Everybody take a deep breath, take a step back, and relax. Deep breaths, everybody."

Fay sniffed. "Hmmph. Let go of the monkey, Miyu. You'll get fleas." She turned to Agrius. "I transferred the credits to your account. We're not paying for the missing part."

Miyu shoved Andrew's face into the floor one more time, stood up gracefully, kicked him in the side with her heavy boot, and began to follow Fay out the door. Before exiting she turned and finally spoke. "Next time, hire some mercenaries that aren't complete idiots." Her voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper.

Their footsteps echoed, softer, softer, until they disappeared completely.

Andrew was still huddled on the floor. When silence again enveloped the room, Fox, still shaking a little, stiffly helped him up. Andrew winced and rubbed at his face. His nose was bleeding.

"Well, I think that went pretty well." Wolf broke the silence. "Nobody got shot."

"Pretty well? Pretty well?! That was a complete shit show! What even happened? Are you really professional mercenaries or just...just…AGH!" Agrius clutched his head and hissed in anger. "You let them get away without paying full price!"

" **You** didn't get hurt. **We** did our job." Wolf pointed out.

"Just, get out, all of you! Go!"

"We'll go. After we've received our payment"

"I'm not paying you idiots for what just happened!"

Wolf casually pulled a blaster out of his jacket and pointed it at Agrius' head. "Really now."

Agrius sneered at Wolf. "You can't kill me."

"You're right. I can't. That wouldn't be nearly fun enough." Wolf lowered the blaster to Agrius' leg. "I'll cripple you instead. Do you think I should shoot the left leg or the right leg, Andrew?"

"Both." Andrew wiped his bloody nose on his sleeve.

Agrius rolled his eyes. "I'm not falling for that trick, boys. You think that with a little intimidation you can rob me? You will have to try harder th- FUCK!" Agrius fell to the ground, clutching his leg. He patted at his thigh, where Wolf's blaster had nicked it, and looked at his paw. It was sticky with blood.

"That was a warning, not a trick. Give us the money."

"Fine, fine, alright, okay, alright," Agrius pulled out a small electronic pad and quickly tapped its screen. "There, take the credits. Just please, don't hurt me."

"That's what I thought." Wolf checked the new alert on his visor – a payment from Agrius. Satisfied by the amount he found there, he tucked his blaster back into his jacket and smiled. "Thank you for doing business with us. We'll be going now. We know the way out."


	6. Andrew Doesn't Follow

**Warning: Non-consensual themes**

Before the War, Sector Y had been an organized, reliable place for criminals and adventurers to meet and conduct business (and sometimes pleasure.) Now it was a massive dump.

Because of the recent patrols by the Cornerian army (and heaven only knew what the hell they were up to), all but the most brazen steered clear of the area. But those who chose to come back found that it was easy to remain hidden in the dangerous piles of debris floating helter-skelter. And there were plenty of goods to be salvaged – so many abandoned ships, free for the taking!

As long as one didn't mind clearing out the bodies often left on-board.

It took six Cornerian hours to cross the length of Sector Y, four to span the width, and another four to cross the depth of it, taking into account the slow speeds required to avoid crashing into garbage.

Wolf, Fox, and Andrew were still an hour away from clearing the cosmic dump. The Great Fox was waiting for them, hidden behind some empty cargo carriers at the edge of the sector.

Fox's private commlink cracked to life.

"Fox, can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear, Peppy. What's going on?"

"Are you still in Sector Y?"

"Yep, for another hour at least."

"Good. I just received a call from Agrius, he-"

"Whatever he said, don't believe it. He's a pathetic sack of shit."

"…he said that he needed you again. Unexpectedly – an emergency of sorts."

Fox frowned. "Wait, what? That's not right. He basically kicked us out. Almost didn't pay up. No, no, no. He doesn't want us back. Are you sure it was Agrius that called?"

"Of course I'm sure. He said that he's meeting the same clients again, on short notice. He sounded annoyed. I don't know what you did to irritate him, but if he wants to hire you for a little bit longer-"

"Why doesn't he get someone else?"

"He needs someone right away. Your team is the closest."

"How does he know that for sure? Why didn't he contact us directly?"

"Fuck, Fox. I don't know. I didn't ask."

Fox huffed. "I'm not doing it."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not. He's a prick."

"We need the money. Badly. On top of that, Agrius could _really_ fuck us over if we – you - do anything more to piss him off. What he's done so far is mild. He's got connections, friends in high places, etcetera etcetera." Peppy's voice was thin, fragile. He sounded old. "We can't piss him off."

"We already did," Fox started to argue, but something about Peppy's tone sent a pang of guilt sliding down his chest, so he bit back the rest. "Fine."

"I sent you the coordinates." Peppy said, disconnecting without saying goodbye.

* * *

Fox slammed the arwing's control column violently, sending his ship into a U-turn that narrowly avoided the shattered hull of a Cornerian warship.

It didn't take long for his teammates to catch up.

"Uh, Fox, our ship is _that_ way. Opposite of the direction we are currently heading." Andrew piped up.

"We're going back. Peppy wants us to go back."

"Oh, so you're finally talking again." Wolf growled. "I thought you were going to sulk for a few more hours."

"Do you have to be a dick every waking moment of your existence? It's nonstop, just constant sarcasm and-"

"You know what?" Andrew quickly cut them off, "I think the more important question right now is WHY ARE WE GOING BACK."

"Agrius is meeting his clients again, he needs us for a little bit longer, and Peppy sent us the new coordinates. That's why." Fox muttered.

"That's not right. Agrius hates us! Why didn't Peppy discuss this with all of us? Hell, why didn't Agrius contact us directly? Why does he want us to meet at different coordinates? Does this mean Agrius is meeting the clients on _their_ ship? Why would he do that? Is he going to want us to escort him there?"

"I DON'T KNOW, ANDREW!" Fox yelled. Took a deep breath. Pulled at the corner of his scarf. "I don't know. I didn't ask."

Andrew grew quiet. "…I'm sorry. About what happened. I'm sorry that I screwed it up."

"Andrew." Fox felt that pang of guilt again. "None of what happened was your fault."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it, Andrew. It was all Fox's fault." Wolf butted in.

"Fuck you, Wolf."

Wolf laughed.

* * *

The new coordinates led them to a ship. At least, Fox _assumed_ it was a ship. It was much larger than Agrius' stolen spacecraft, but it had never been majestic, or grand, or proud. It was just a sharp box. The only word Fox could think of to describe it was "grey", but even that he was doubtful of because the shade of it seemed to be constantly shifting.

And it looked dead. More than dead. It looked like it had never been alive.

But there was Agrius' personal flier, just ahead of them.

They switched frequencies and tried to hail Agrius.

No response.

Agrius disappeared into a gaping pit in the side of the ship.

Star Fox followed.

And landed next to one of several piles of small, broken ships.

"Where did he go?" Andrew asked as he hopped out of his Wolfen.

"What?" Wolf was already standing.

"Where did Agrius go? I don't see his ship."

"Oh. He's around somewhere. Fox! Do you see Agrius?"

"Nope!" Fox shouted back. "But here's his ship!"

Wolf and Andrew squeezed their way over to Fox, who was staring at Agrius' ship with his hands thrust deep into his pockets.

"That's his ship alright." Wolf said.

"This doesn't feel right, guys." Andrew whispered. "I don't think we should be making so much noise."

"He must have gone over there." Wolf didn't acknowledge Andrew's comment, but he did lower his voice. He was pointing towards a dark hallway tucked into the far corner of the room. It appeared to be the only exit in the entire bay.

"Only one way to find out I guess." Fox started striding purposefully towards it.

"Uh, No! Fuck no! That looks shady as fuck! C'mon, guys, let's just leave. Can we please just leave?"

"Don't be a pussy Andrew. We have blasters. We're just going to give it a quick look, right Fox?"

"Right."

"Use your brains! Why isn't Agrius talking? Why did he disappear? _Because he wants to hurt us._ I bet that's why. We shot him in the goddamn leg! Why would he want us back after that? We shouldn't have come here. We need to leave right now."

Planted firmly next to Agrius' ship with his arms crossed, Andrew was trying to look assertive, but Wolf had already caught up with Fox. Fox cast a glance backwards.

"Look, Andrew. I _know_ this is shady. Agrius is up to something, and I want to find out what it is. Aren't you even a little curious?"

"No."

Fox sighed. "Then…guard the ships. Give us five minutes, and we'll be right back."

Andrew watched them go. "We're not invincible," he whispered.

* * *

They were captured before a single minute had passed. The ambush came from the side, before Fox could get a good look at his surroundings. Something cold pricking into his arm, his blaster yanked out of his grasp, a glimpse of Wolf with his teeth bared, throwing punches at faceless enemies – then he had blacked out.

* * *

The world was thick and heavy and red.

Red.

Fox tried to open his eyes all the way.

He was in a tacky red room, and it was swirling. The damn sofa to his left wouldn't sit still. He squinted, trying to focus on the furniture, trying to see straight, but the massive burning sun between his eyes hurt like hell and he couldn't–

Focus. He closed his eyes and focused instead on taking a deep breath. And another, in, out. Deep breath in, deep breath out. The rest of his body slowly began to wake up. Although the world was still swinging, he could now feel that he was on the floor, cushioned by a thick rug.

"The great Fox McCloud. I thought you would have come to your senses by now, honestly, being a hero and all."

The last few hours came back to Fox – they had been trying to follow Agrius, Andrew had stayed behind, then the ambush; panic began to pulse through his body, forcing some life back into his limbs. He tried to sit up.

"…hhwah?"

"You're very handsome, you know."

Fox finally managed to open his eyes part way. A leopard in Venomian uniform was crouching next to him. The uniform was too tight, making tawny fur press up in tufts around the collar.

"Very handsome." Grinning sharply, he began to pull Fox's piloting jacket off. "I wanted you to be awake for this, wanted to see your pretty eyes."

 _Shit. Shit shit shit._ Fox struggled again to sit up, pushing sluggishly at the leopard, who was now tugging at Fox's shirt. He whined when the leopard paused to yank his scarf away.

"A scarf. Precious."

"fffu…ck…uuoff nggg!" Fox dug his claws into the leopard's forearm. With a hiss, the feline leaned back for a moment and pulled something out of his pocket.

"Little bastard!" He pressed a dagger against Fox's chest. "Do that again and I cut you to pieces." His glare made it clear that he wasn't exaggerating.

Fox stopped struggling. The leopard started to run his claws up Fox's thigh. Fox closed his eyes.

A muffled burst, and something warm splattered across Fox's face and chest, something heavy slumped over onto his legs.

"Fox!" It was Wolf's rough voice.

He was standing in the doorway, shirtless, fur rumpled, and his visor was gone. His left eye was a little droopy, his purple iris cloudy and sightless.

"Fox, are you alright?" Wolf dropped his blaster and started pulling Fox up. The leopard's body slid off of Fox's leg and hit the ground with a soft _whump._

"Yhee-ess." Fox opened his eyes blearily. "Thhhink so. Hhee… _poked_ me."

"Oh my god."

Wolf looked a little too concerned, so Fox elaborated.

"No. Dagg-urr." He pointed at his chest. A tear and a small line of blood on Fox's white shirt marked the spot where the leopard's dagger had pressed. It took Wolf a moment to see it amidst the spatter of gore; when he did, his face lightened.

"Oh. Oh, thank god. They didn't get very far with me either. But…" Wolf scooped up the blaster and started heading for the door as fast as he could with Fox leaning on him. "Whatever they drugged us with is already mostly out of _my_ system. Maybe you got more of it."

His boot caught on something; Fox's scarf, difficult to see on top of the garish red rug. He paused to wrap it around Fox's neck.


End file.
